Guilford Sends Six to ODAC/USA South All-Star Game‏

Greensboro, N.C. — Four Guilford College students and both the men and women’s head coaches will represent the Quakers in the fourth annual Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC)-USA South Athletic Conference Senior All-Star basketball games Sunday, March 22 at Hampden-Sydney College.

The annual all-star games feature approximately 30 senior basketball students from across each conference. The league’s respective Coach of the Year honorees direct the teams with other mentors from around the league assisting. Admission to the game is free. The conferences split last season’s games at North Carolina Wesleyan College with the ODAC winning the men’s contest, 112-105, and the USA South winning the women’s game, 82-74.

Guilford women’s basketball coach Stephanie Flamini was selected as an assistant for the ODAC women’s team. Two of her players will be on the ODAC roster as the Quakers’ Tracey Croner (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan) and Jessica Casto (Cross Lanes, W. Va./Nitro) will participate in the 1:00 p.m. game.

Croner, a 5-10 forward, started every game the last three seasons for Guilford after transferring from Coastal Carolina in 2006. The two-time captain averaged 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds over 80 career contests. She was named First Team All-ODAC this season, averaging a career-high 14.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. She had her finest game of her career this season with 27 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in a loss at Virginia Wesleyan. Croner is a two-time second-team all-state honoree.

A 5-4 point guard, Casto played in all 26 games this season for the Quakers, starting 17. She averaged 4.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and a team-high 3.9 assists per game. Casto, a two-time captain, enjoyed her finest game last season in a win over Salem College where she scored a career-high 16 points and added four steals. She averaged 4.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.69 assists per game for her career. Casto ranks sixth among the Quakers’ career assists leaders with 306 and third in assists per game average (3.7).

By virtue of his selection as the Bob Johnson ODAC Coach of the Year, Guilford men’s basketball mentor Tom Palombo will coach the ODAC’s men’s basketball all-stars. He has two familiar names on his roster as the Quakers’ George Neville (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) and Mat Stanley (Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern) will participate in the 3:00 p.m. game. Both seniors have helped Guilford (25-5) reach the NCAA Division III Tournament national semifinal in its finest campaign in over 30 years. The Quakers will face the defending national champion Washington University-St. Louis Friday at 5:00 p.m. at the Salem (Va.) Civic Center. This the third straight season the Quakers have reached the NCAA Division III Tournament.

A 6-4 forward, Neville is averaging a career-high 9.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in his first season as a full-time starter. He had one of his best games of the season in the loss to Washington and Lee University in the opener of the ODAC tournament, scoring 16 points and 12 rebounds. Last season against Lynchburg College, he had career-highs in points (22) and rebounds (12). For his career, Neville averages 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and has not missed a game in four years.

Stanley, a 6-1 guard, started every game this season as the Quakers’ coaching staff honored his loyalty and dedication to the team. For his career, he has scored 38 points and 30 rebounds in 58 contests.

Dave Walters
Guilford College Athletics

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